novelraw Chapter 1177: Companion Candidate
Chapter 1177: Companion Candidate
“Scan to pay?”
“Mm.”
With a quick scan on her phone, Ren Ziling casually picked up two cups of coffee. As she turned around, she happened to catch sight of what was happening at the outdoor table through the glass door.
The boy stood up and bent down to kiss the quietly seated girl. It was as beautiful as a piece of art... Ren Ziling instantly lifted both cups to cover her eyes—then sneakily peeked through a gap.
Her giddy amusement was written all over her face as she chuckled to herself nonstop.
Something like... hehehe.
“Finally wising up, huh…” She nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, I won’t bother you lovebirds anymore~”
She was a woman of action.
Handing the two drinks to a staff member and asking them to deliver them, she quietly slipped out the side door. Moments later, a red Mini Cooper slowly drove away.
“Li Zi! You home yet? I’m coming to pick you up, okay? The weather’s great today—how about I treat you to a drink? Manuscript? What manuscript! I don’t know anything about that! Overtime? Never gonna happen!”Emmm…
…
“Looks like Miss Ren’s already left.”
It was as if Luo Qiu and You Ye had vanished from the tea shop—no one noticed them, yet they still sat at their table.
Luo Qiu smiled lightly but said nothing.
Miss Maid softly asked, “Is Master returning to the shop now?”
Luo Qiu shook his head. “Not yet. Since we’re already out, let’s do something else.”
You Ye looked puzzled.
“How about a movie?” Luo Qiu said with a smile. “I don’t think we’ve ever properly gone to one together.”
“A movie?”
Luo Qiu stood and offered his hand. “My lovely Miss, would you honor me with a date tonight?”
Without hesitation, Miss Maid placed her hand in his. “Of course.”
She smiled faintly, her eyes sparkling like the stars… At that moment, faint particles drifted from her body like dust motes, then quickly vanished.
She looked surprised, watching the phenomenon, but quickly seemed to understand.
Her brow creased slightly. “When did this…”
Luo Qiu gently said, “Next time, don’t get so angry. You should know best—I can’t be harmed.”
“Forgive me for worrying you.” Miss Maid looked remorseful. “It seems… You Ye still isn’t perfect.”
Luo Qiu took her hand and walked toward the long street. “Back when he sold you, that trace of sorrow rooted itself in your soul. Under the previous Master, your thoughts weren’t free, and that sorrow has always been suppressed… But my path is different from my predecessor’s.”
You Ye looked at him, moved.
“I want you to stay by my side—not just because I’m your master.” Luo Qiu said seriously. “No matter how deeply you hide your grief, I’ll draw it out and erase it.”
“Master.” Her eyes flickered again.
And then—time stopped.
Miss Maid froze. The world, time, everything… fell into stillness.
…
Luo Qiu sighed and gently caressed her face. “I’m not planning to quit. That’s enough already. If it goes too far, I’ll get annoyed… What’s the point of carefully stripping away my emotions like this? If you want to keep me, just make me happy.”
Time moved again.
Miss Maid’s eyes regained focus… but now within them swirled chaos, as if stars and universes flowed inside.
“You… remembered?”
It was You Ye’s voice—but it wasn’t her.
The Altar.
Luo Qiu could clearly sense a different will, using You Ye’s body to communicate with him—this time not metaphorically, but in actual words, face-to-face.
“So you’ve finally decided to meet me,” Luo Qiu said calmly, clearly satisfied with the outcome.
“If I didn’t show up now, you were about to…” ‘You Ye’ trailed off. “Fine, I’ll give you what you want! How much do you remember?”
“Not much. Just scattered fragments. Nothing clear.” Luo Qiu replied. “Mostly just feelings.”
“I thought so…” ‘You Ye’ looked down for a moment. “Luo Ya’s last attack on you worked. When the Royal Power entered your body, it triggered resonance with your own power.”
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” Luo Qiu said flatly. “I think I can feel that.”
‘You Ye’ shook her head, silent for a moment, then said, “The root agent still has flaws. Royal Power was the last resort… But if the inheritor of Royal Power also becomes the agent, that flaw disappears. The agent becomes perfect.”
“So I was born for that?”
“No… You were an accident.” ‘You Ye’ shook her head. “I can’t say more than that.”
Luo Qiu narrowed his eyes. “Are you speaking for the altar, or the Root?”
“I am the altar. I am also the Root. But the Root is not me…” ‘You Ye’ said seriously. “Remember: the origin seeks a flawless executor. I’ll help you.”
“Why?” Luo Qiu frowned.
‘You Ye’ stepped forward and gently rested her head on his chest.
At that moment—even he, the Boss—had his time frozen.
“Because no matter what you want to do, I’ll make it happen for you…”
She held him for a moment, then slowly looked up. On tiptoe, she gave him a light kiss and stepped back.
She gazed at him, then opened her arms slightly. A faint, cold aura began to spread from her body.
【Surface consciousness link: disconnected…】
【Agent growth exceeds limits… Activating backup emergency protocol…】
【Sealing all royal memories of the agent… Adjusting growth rate…】
【Elevating agent’s servant “Saint Jeanne d’Arc” to status: Companion Candidate】
【Reconnecting surface consciousness… Deep consciousness fluctuation: 1.3%... Repairing… Repair complete. True soul consumption: 62,400,090…】
【Embedding surface consciousness… Success. Deep consciousness dormant. Surface consciousness entering standby… Autonomous system enabled…】
‘You Ye’ looked at Luo Qiu, slowly closed her eyes, and whispered, “Next time we meet, I’ll definitely devour it. So don’t be faster than me this time, okay? When that time comes, I’ll truly make you…”
…
Luo Qiu instinctively glanced around.
“Master?” Miss Maid’s eyes sparkled again.
Luo Qiu smiled apologetically. “I think I killed the mood for a second. Sorry, I zoned out.”
Miss Maid shook her head gently.
“You seem… a bit different.” Luo Qiu said, gazing at her.
She moved her lips slightly in puzzlement. “Maybe because of Master’s help… I feel lighter now.”
Luo Qiu nodded. This was the maid who would make him tea in the afternoon, accompany him silently, and bring a sense of peace and comfort.
“Come on, the movie’s probably starting soon.” Luo Qiu smiled. “I don’t think you’d want to miss this one.”
…
…
Just as he had once thunderously declared—
Divine Land’s True Dragon lay on a sofa in pajamas, resting his head on one hand, munching sunflower seeds while watching a brainless drama and grumbling:
“What the hell? Turning battle aura into a horse? Tch tch!”
Unlike the completely unrefined True Dragon of Divine Land, the little butterfly demon from the pet hospital sat quietly to the side like a well-behaved child, entirely unaffected. She was diligently working through a practice exam book titled Three Years of College Entrance Exams.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
The True Dragon of Divine Land, who had only wanted to shut herself in and do nothing for a few days, frowned. “Pianxian, go get rid of them.”
“Okay!” Luo Pianxian nodded and quickly walked out—soon, the little butterfly demon came jogging back.
Seeing her bounce back, the butterfly demon’s chest bouncing along with her, the True Dragon rolled her eyes. But the butterfly demon said, “Sister Dragon, there are two men in black suits outside. They said they’re giving you this.”
Luo Pianxian held out a small red booklet with an official seal on it.
“Management Bureau?” Long Xiruo frowned. Though reluctant, she got up. “What’s with those guys? Don’t they have anything better to do? Did they say anything else?”
Luo Pianxian replied, “They said they’re here to handle a case and didn’t want to disturb you, so they came to give a heads-up.”
“Handle a case?” Long Xiruo murmured in thought.
Overall, this city was considered her private domain. While the Management Bureau did exist here, it was mostly an empty shell—just a few administrative staff remained, mainly helping her implement certain arrangements.
Such as registering demons for residency, helping them get schooling or jobs, etc.
…
Naturally, the True Dragon of Divine Land couldn’t show up to meet the agents in pajamas—though most of her clothes were weirdly chosen by a certain old turtle with eccentric tastes during her childhood phase.
Her usual outfit was a standard white coat over a shirt and jeans.
“Mid-level agent Liu Minghao, reporting to the Dragon Consultant.”
“Junior agent Wei Zidào, reporting to the Dragon Consultant.”
“Do you guys have too much free time?” Long Xiruo glanced at the two Management Bureau agents, who didn’t even dare lift their heads.
Agent Liu Minghao explained, “Consultant, we received a special incident report from this area, which brought us here to investigate… This is the application personally written by the local police chief, and this document here is the approval from above. Please take a look.”
Long Xiruo took the documents and flipped through them. “Died… in a detention center?”
That caught her attention. She continued reading for a while before finally putting the papers down.
Liu Minghao took the opportunity to explain, “Dragon Consultant, we’ve reviewed the surveillance footage—there’s no evidence of tampering. The suspect was shot out of nowhere, and there were no bullets left in the body… It’s impossible to do that by conventional means.”
“Mm.” Long Xiruo nodded but didn’t seem overly concerned.
For ordinary people, this would be a bizarre and disturbing case. But once the supernatural was involved, there could be dozens, if not hundreds, of possible explanations.
Cameras failing to capture something? Could be a spell. Or the suspect could’ve been a demon with cloaking abilities. Either way, Long Xiruo wasn’t all that interested.
However, one detail did surprise her.
Looking at the two lower-level agents, she frowned. “As far as I remember, you’re not publicly acknowledged here. Why would the local police chief file this request?”
Liu Minghao quickly responded, “Consultant, ever since the Mount Tai incident, the higher-ups passed a ‘Special Emergency Plan.’ Encrypted files were sent to top-level municipal officials and police chiefs.”
“Special Emergency Plan? Since when?” Long Xiruo’s eyes narrowed. “Why wasn’t I informed?”
Nervously, Liu Minghao said, “That’s… a decision from above. I don’t know the details. Perhaps you can ask them directly.”
Long Xiruo was quiet for a moment, then waved her hand. “Fine, go do your work. Write me a report afterward.”
The two agents quickly took their leave.
Afterward, Long Xiruo picked up her phone and dialed a number in the distant capital.
The one who answered was the Firecloud Evil God, who had just returned to Beijing and hadn’t yet begun his meditation retreat. “Lord Long? Calling at this hour—what can I do for you?”
“Firecloud brat, I want to know—what’s this ‘Special Emergency Plan’ about?” Long Xiruo said angrily. “Are you trying to go behind my back?”
“You must be joking, Lord Long. The plan is to better address the impacts of the spiritual energy resurgence,” Firecloud Evil God explained calmly. “Originally, we intended to wait a few more days—collect more data and then discuss it with you. But since you asked, let me tell you something now.”
“What is it?”
“On the second day after the press conference, we received three very unusual reports,” he said seriously. “Three hospitals reported three newborns—each exhibiting subtle but unusual abilities. These hospitals were all close to where the disaster occurred. And today… we received two more similar reports.”
“You mean…” Long Xiruo frowned instinctively.
Firecloud Evil God spoke solemnly: “A new age of superpowers may be upon us.”
“This is going to be a headache…” Long Xiruo murmured.
As the world’s spiritual energy resurged, not only Daoists and Demons benefited with more space to exist—even ordinary people began to receive its blessings, gaining the potential for evolution.
(End of Chapter)